Broccoli

Well, that's not the case in my house. My kids love steamed broccoli stems. They won't eat the flower part of the plant but the most nutritious part (the stem) is their favourite vegetable.

Broccoli is another member of the brassica family along with cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and swede. As such it should never be grown in the same place for more than one season without giving the soil a break. These are the basics of crop rotation. If you've grown brassicas, then follow them with other crops for a few seasons to prevent disease.

Broccoli seedlings can be planted in spring for a summer or autumn crop but will bolt to seed in hot weather (which is fine if you want to save seed). Probably the best time to plant broccoli seedlings is in summer or early autumn for a winter and spring crop. I plant at anytime between spring and late autumn for almost a year round harvest.

I like to plant seedlings about half a metre apart. While the seedlings are getting established you can grow lettuce or other fast growing crops in the spaces between them.

Broccoli can also be grown by sewing seeds directly into your veggie patch in clumps. Prick out extra seedlings leaving the strongest to grow on.

To grow healthy, vigorous broccoli you need to provide the plants with a good home but beware not to overfeed. Too much nitrogen in the soil will produce broccoli plants with lots of healthy looking leaves and spindly flower heads.

Prepare the soil well by digging in plenty of organic matter prior to planting seedlings. Give the seedlings a regular spray of weak organic liquid furtiliser (perhaps once a fortnight) to maintain vigor as the plant grows. Mulch with compost, pea straw or whatever suitable mulch is available to you locally.

Keep the soil damp and the plants well mulched during summer.

Broccoli is one of those 'cut and come again' vegetables. Cut the main flower head off with some stem attached. Eat it, and then wait until the side shoots are ready to harvest (often within days). The leaves are also edible.

It pays to harvest the flower heads regularly, especially in summer, as broccoli tends to bolt to seed in hot weather. Once this has happened, the plant becomes too woody and tough for consumption. By preventing flowering, the plant can continue to crop through to winter and if pampered, may return to the flowering cycle the following spring. I have read of someone who kept a broccoli plant in production for 3 years using this method.

NOTE: Not only is broccoli highly nutritious, it is also said to contain anti carcinogenic properties. So pig out.